Pistons start season with new coach, new players and a new plan of attack

AP File PhotoFirst-year Detroit Pistons coach John Kuester, right, spent the past two seasons as an assistant in Cleveland, where he was credited with instilling an offensive system that successfully incorporated the talents of Cavaliers players other than LeBron James. This season, he's focused on getting the Pistons to play better defense.AUBURN HILLS -- Few are surprised this season's Detroit Pistons will look radically different from last year's group.

After all, they're coming off a 39-43 season, their first sub-.500 season since 2000-01.

Michael Curry is out as coach after just one season, replaced by longtime NBA assistant (including a stint in Detroit) John Kuester.

PISTONS CHANGES

KEY LOSSES:

Coach Michael Curry (39-43 record in one season)

Allen Iverson (17.4 points)

Antonio McDyess (9.6 points)

Rasheed Wallace (113 3-pointers, 12.1 points)

Amir Johnson (3.6 points, 3.8 rebounds)

Arron Afflalo (4.9 points, 40.2 percent of 3-point shots)

KEY ADDITIONS:

Coach John Kuester (assistant last season with Cleveland)

Ben Gordon (20.7 points with Chicago)

Charlie Villanueva (16.2 points, 6.7 rebounds with Milwaukee)

Chris Wilcox (7.2 points, 4.5 rebounds with New York and Oklahoma City)

Ben Wallace (2.9 points, 6.5 rebounds with Cleveland)

Austin Daye (first-round pick, 19th overall, from Gonzaga)

DaJuan Summers (Second-round pick from Georgetown)

Jonas Jerebko (Second-round pick who played in Italy the past two seasons)

The team's core group of proven players has been replaced by a more youthful version that Pistons' brass anticipate steadily will improve.

Then, there's the win-it-all-or-nothing mentality that has existed every year since the Pistons won an NBA title in 2004.

Yes, that has gone by the wayside as well.

This group of Pistons has more modest goals for this upcoming season, such as getting into the playoffs.

"We're a different team, with different kinds of players," guard Will Bynum said. "It'll take a little time for us to all get on the same page."

That unfamiliarity, coupled with so many young and inexperienced players, makes it difficult to gauge just how good this Pistons team really is.

"We'll see," Pistons guard Richard Hamilton said. "We have a lot of young guys, but the good thing about it is, they all can play. It's just a matter of us getting some experience playing with each other, get into the playoffs and from there, who knows what can happen?"

The Pistons open the regular season Wednesday at Memphis (8 p.m., FSD).

Detroit's top offseason signing was Ben Gordon, a prolific one-on-one scorer who spent the past five seasons in Chicago.

A career 18.5 points per game scorer, Gordon was at his best during the first round of the playoffs against Boston last spring. The 6-foot-2 guard single-handedly kept the Bulls in just about every game, averaging 24.3 points during the series.

Gordon's knack for scoring, especially in late-game situations, was among the reasons Detroit made him its No. 1 target this summer.

"Ben's a great addition to this team," Hamilton said. "We haven't had a guy coming off the bench who could score like he can since Corliss Williamson (in 2005)."

Detroit also added Charlie Villanueva.

The 6-foot-11 forward became an unrestricted free agent this summer when Milwaukee declined to make him a qualifying offer.

"We loved Charlie, we really did," said Bucks general manager John Hammond, a former front office executive with the Pistons. "Like I told Charlie, it was definitely a business decision, not personal. We loved Charlie and I know the Pistons, and they're going to love Charlie as well. He'll do a good job for them."

In its effort to become younger and more versatile in the frontcourt, Detroit used all three of its picks in last June's NBA draft to select forwards.

Austin Daye, a lithe 6-foot-11 forward who since has "bulked" up to 200 pounds, was selected with the 15th overall pick. Detroit used its two second-round picks to select Georgetown's DaJuan Summers and Swedish forward Jonas Jerebeko, who are 6-9 and 6-10, respectively.

All three will come off the bench, although Daye and Jerebko appear to be ahead of Summers in the playing pecking order.

Through free agency, Detroit re-signed Ben Wallace after he agreed to a buyout with the Phoenix Suns.

Although the four-time defensive player of the year doesn't dominate games like he did in his prime, Kuester said he is convinced that Wallace still can help his youthful frontcourt.

"Ben has a corporate knowledge of a lot of things I want to accomplish," said Kuester, who spent the past two seasons with Wallace in Cleveland. "Don't kid yourselves. There's still juice in that body.

"Ben has really matured as a basketball player. He was a defensive player of the year, and there were a number of times he let his action speak louder than his words. And now, he's sending so many good messages to our young players. That's pretty neat for him to articulate what's important to this team."

Detroit also added Chris Wilcox, an athletic power forward who will provide additional depth along a relatively thin frontcourt.

"Only great things come out of Detroit," said Wilcox, who considered Phoenix and Dallas before signing with the Pistons. "There's a lot of great history here. By me coming here, I can be part of history and, hopefully, we can make some history here, too."

Maybe the most significant addition was Kuester, who became a target for Detroit after talks between the Pistons and former Dallas coach Avery Johnson broke down.

Kuester comes to Detroit after spending the past two seasons in Cleveland. Last season, he was credited with instilling an offensive system that successfully incorporated the talents of Cavaliers players other than LeBron James.

However, much of Kuester's focus in the preseason has been on the team's play defensively.

"At the end of the day," Kuester said, "for us to be the kind of team I believe we're capable of becoming, we're going to have to keep getting better defensively."

And if the Pistons do exceed the modest expectations for this season, there will be many quick to jump on the team's bandwagon.

"Even when we had all those veterans and were winning a lot of games every year, people still doubted us," Hamilton said. "So for us, this season really isn't all that different."